Monday, August 31, 2009

There is this game on FaceBook, called FarmVille. I got a lot of invites recently for playing that game, but I was too busy playing Bubble Spinner to pay any attention to new game invites! Yesterday, however, several nights of inadequate sleep (due to the electricity problem in my building, which is now solved by the way) rendered me incapable of putting in the amount of concentration and focus required for playing BubbleSpinner. Hence, I decided to try my hands at something new finally!

My first impression of FarmVille was "BAAH"! I couldn't make any head or tail out of the game. It just gave me a small green rectangle, where I could click on several buttons and create short square plantation patches. "BORING"! I planted some strawberry crops in the process of experimenting... strawberry because its seeds were the least expensive, and it apparently took the least amount of time in harvesting. And then I was soon out of money to buy more seeds or plough more land... and so I went back to Mahjong instead on my blog here!

In the morning today, my sister checked out my farm and told me that all my strawberries had withered because I hadn't plucked them on time! She was also kind enough to let me know that I had only 3 coins left to do any farming! Like I didn't already know that! Anyways, she offered to help clean up my farm by logging into my profile... I said fine, go ahead! And then she added some "neighbors" for me, and sent me a "fig tree" as gift, and also helped fly off the crows from my new-found neighbors' farms... earning some more coins for me in the process! LOL!

With a lot of tips from her, I finally managed to get the hang of this game. And now I have over 60 plantations of strawberries almost ready for harvest. I also have a 'fig tree' and an 'orange tree', which will take a few days to start bearing fruits; and some wheat plantations and soybeans plantations, which will be ready by tomorrow I think.

My farm is still very small though, and also very basic. This is what it looks like right now...

But you ought to see my sister's farm... it's beautiful!

And this one below is Nikita's... she even has a small pond on her farm... right in the middle there! And pigs and horses! Wow! I don't have a single animal on my farm yet! :D

Sumit has a lot of stuff ready for harvesting, as my sister told me. I guess they are the ones circled in pink. It looks like he's traveling right now though. I hope his farm produce doesn't go to waste like my strawberries yesterday!

If any of you are on FaceBook, please DO check out this game. And add me as your "neighbor" there too! :D But I'm warning you guys... this game is addictive! :D

Sunday, August 30, 2009

Yesterday's "Sa Re Ga Ma Pa" (the only show I have watched on TV since 2007) was a Qawali special with the "Wadali Brothers" as 'Guests of Honor' for the day. The show ended with a live performance by the two brothers, on their song "Tu Maane Ya Na Maane". Watching them sing on stage was a phenomenal experience!

I remember, my sister and I always did our Math homework with some music playing in the background. Even walking becomes so much more fun when I have some steady beats playing on my cell phone.

In fact, the food seems to taste better too, on days when I play some music (usually Ricky Martin or Elvis Presley) while cooking, and sing along with it!

But watching the Wadali Brothers' performance yesterday... it was something totally different!

Those guys seem to have a perpetual smile pasted on their faces as they sing! As if it's some kind of special treat for them... that they've been given the opportunity to sing!

Honestly! The way they were singing... it seemed as if they truly believed that they were performing live in front of God!

And their overflowing joy was so infectious... my Dad and I were simply mesmerized!

Dad said it seemed as if a waterfall of music had suddenly started flowing! And I could actually visualize all the devi-devtaas gathered up in the skies... looking down from the heavens above... each one with a "Colgate grin" sparkling on his/her face... relishing every moment of their performance!

You can see the original video of this song above, but it's not even remotely close to watching the brothers perform live!

Their stage performance yesterday seemed to transport you to a completely different era... where time seemed to stand still!

Oh... but time is always still isn't it? Like a stationary point... one point for '29th August 2009 - 10:34:45 pm'... another point for '29th August 2009 - 10:34:46 pm'... and so on!

And it's us who keep moving from one point in time to another!

Or *our minds* rather... that keep hopping back-and-forth between the past, present and future!

So let me rephrase the above then...

Their performance yesterday seemed to transport you to a place where YOU stood still!

No past... no future... only that particular point in time!

And their performance in that point of time!

Their 'celebration of life'... which made YOU feel like celebrating too!

Celebrating the fact that you could be witness to such a performance... that you could watch them, listen to them, and even smile with them!

So much so, that you began to share the same kind of insane joy with them!

Yupp! I-N-S-A-N-E! That's exactly how it felt! :D

I guess this must be the 'living in the now' phenomenon they keep talking about...

Saturday, August 29, 2009

My building's transformer is not working since 26th evening. In other words, we don't have any electricity for 3 days now, in the entire apartment. The repair guys came yesterday noon, tried to fix the transformer, but couldn't. Eventually, they left, and now we need to wait for a new transformer. Being India, this could take anything from 2-days to 15-days... or even more, maybe! First it'll have to be "sanctioned"... then they'll need to wait till they get a new transformer in stock... and finally those repairmen will have to find time to actually install the thing!

Fortunately, we DO have power backup in our building, but for obvious reasons, we can't depend on it 24 X 7! For one, the generator needs time to cool down. And two, all the residents of the building will need to shell out extra money for the diesel, in direct proportion to the amount of time it is used. And none of us have money growing from our potted plants here, right!

Bottomline: I don't have regular access to the net right now... and for indefinite period of time. As a matter of fact, I don't even have regular access to a computer right now... or even the ceiling fan above! Oh and washing machines don't work on generator backup... so we're back to washing clothes the old-fashioned way! End result: Various odd sets of muscles in different parts of my body are creaking and groaning in agony, as they always do if you use them after a prolonged period of inactivity! [Aaaaahhhhh!]

Now if only I can manage to lose a couple of kilos during this mess... it'll be worth all the trouble! :p

P.S. - I have 3 more awards to collect from Sandhya, and pass on to some of my "deserving" Blogger friends... will do it as soon as I can.

Thursday, August 27, 2009

The post ends with some lines from Marianne Williamson, which I came across somewhere earlier too, but then lost them. Copying them here now, so that I can go through them whenever fear strikes in...

Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate.Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure.It is our light, not our darkness, that most frightens us.We ask ourselves, who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, and fabulous?Actually, who are you not to be?You are a child of God.Your playing small doesn't serve the world.There's nothing enlightened about shrinking,so that other people won't feel insecure around you.We are all meant to shine, as children do.We are born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us.It's not just in some of us, it's in everyone.And as we let our own light shine,we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same.As we are liberated from our own fear,our presence automatically liberates others.

Monday, August 24, 2009

German classes suspended till September 1st. Bad news right! :( Anyways, I decided to catch up with my Blogging community today then. And guess what! I found 5 good news to compensate for the above bad one... in the form of 5 new blog Awards! Yayyyy! :D

So here's the first one... from ShilpaGarg...

The Zombie Chicken Award

The blogger who receives this award believes in the Tao of the zombie chicken – excellence, grace and persistence in all situations, even in the midst of a zombie apocalypse.

These amazing bloggers regularly produce content so remarkable that their readers would brave a raving pack of zombie chickens just to be able to read their inspiring words.

As a recipient of this world-renowned award, you now have the task of passing it on to at least 5 other worthy bloggers. Do not risk the wrath of the zombie chickens by choosing unwisely or not choosing at all.

Hmmmm. So I got to pass it on to 5 other bloggers, who regularly provide such fabulous content that their readers may be willing to "brave a raving pack of zombie chickens", whatever they might be! Therefore, I choose to pass this award to:

ZB - for his beautiful portrayal of human emotions, in the form of short stories, all of which, strangely, have the lead character called 'Arun'!

Sumit - for his very interesting and mentally stimulating prose posts, which he used to write before he was bitten by the poetry bug!

Vatsap - for his 'Shitoons' obviously! Well ok, many of his textual posts are also pretty thought provoking. So...

Nikita - for ALWAYS penning down stuff which I'm so well able to relate with personally. Totally addicted to the subtle wit reflected in her posts.

Friday, August 21, 2009

Learning a new language is super fun! Makes you feel like a 6-year old once again!

The immense pride you feel when you are finally able to get a firm grasp on big words like “ausgezeichnet” (which means ‘excellent’ by the way) and “Reisebüroangestellte” (which means ‘Travel Agency Employee’)… and when you are finally able to crack the mystery regarding when to use “kommen” and when to use “komme”, or the difference between “busfahrer” and “busfahrerin” or “Sekretär” and “Sekretärin”… it is enough to give you a *high* stronger than the strongest of drinks can possibly give you!

Picture Credit: http://www.popartuk.com/

And when your clumsy attempts at making *new* 5-word sentences (‘new’ meaning ‘which aren’t already there in your “kursbuch” or the handouts given to you in class’!) happen to be successful (Ok, *sort of successful*… because you mixed up ‘for’ and ‘from’, and used “aus” where you really wanted to use “für”!)… and when you remember to say “danke” (‘thank you’) to the teacher when she tells you that your introduction about yourself, in Deutsch, was just “wunderbar” (‘wonderful’)… all of it makes you feel like you are some kind of super-mortal! That you are simply the ‘coolest person alive on this planet’! That you are ‘the bessssssttttttt’! :D

So that you stand in front of the full-length mirror at home… look at your reflection with shameless pride… and blow a loud “muuuuuaaaaahhhhh” towards you… with the silliest possible grin plastered on your face that seems to have become stuck there for like eternity now! :D

Even the euphoria of being in love doesn’t come anywhere close to this feeling! He he he! I’m still displaying my silly grin unashamedly! :D

Saturday, August 15, 2009

Somebody forwarded an email to me a little while ago... was a real laugh! So decided to share it here along with my comments in blue. Enjoy these 'Marriage Facts by Kids!" :D

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like, if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming.-- Alan, age 10Yeah right! You wish!

No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with.-- Kristen, age 10LOL @ "stuck with"! Btw, how do you know this at 10, kid?

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then.-- Camille, age 10Eh? What was that?

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids.-- Derrick, age 8Ha ha ha ha ha! And we have another Sherlock Holmes between us! :D

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?Both don't want any more kids.-- Lori, age 8Well, nobody ever expected them to be mirror images really... one being from Mars and the other from Venus...

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough.-- Lynnette, age 8 (isn't she a treasure)Like REALLY long enough, you mean? ;)

On the first date, they just tell each other lies and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date.-- Martin, age 10Ahh! Bull's eye!

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns.-- Craig, age 9Ahem! Talking straight works better, you know... but of course, if you are the 'Drama Queen' type... or 'King' in his case...

WHEN IS IT OKAY TO KISS SOMEONE?When they're rich.-- Pam, age 7:|

The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that.-- Curt, age 7Ha ha ha! Don't worry kid... someone will give you the correct facts very soon now! :)

The rule goes like this: If you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do.-- Howard, age 8=)) =)) 'Right thing!' =)) =)) Don't worry, for you too will be corrupted (like Curt above) soon enough!

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them.-- Anita, age 9 (bless you child)Love you girl! The best answer in the entire quiz, according to me! Muuaahhhhh!

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?-- Kelvin, age 8He he he! So practical...

And The #1 Response Was... (#1 from the bottom!)

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?Tell your wife that she looks pretty, even if she looks like a dump truck.-- Ricky, age 10Tch! Tch! This quiz must have been made up by some male! When it comes to relationships... these poor souls seem to have all their facts screwed up!

Friday, August 14, 2009

After the events of the last couple of days, I’d like to make certain things clear to everyone.

I started this blog in December 2006, to write about MY life, MY experiences, MY feelings, MY beliefs and MY perceptions about things that happen around me. In short, I write whatever *I* want to write about. (Well, I am not really getting paid for this, am I… that I should write about what others want to read!) In short, this has ALWAYS been MY personal blog. And I’m not going to change it just because over 90 people are reading it now, as compared to around 9 back in March this year!

I don’t force anyone to read my blog or comment on it. This is an open blog. I have not sent an *invite* to any body to read my posts. You read it out of your own choice and for your own reasons.

So if I want to talk about Lord Krishna here, I will. If someday I have a fight with Lord Krishna, I will write about that too. If I want to share something funny here, I will. And if I want to record a beautiful/insightful incident that happened in my life, I’ll pen it down here as well. If something frustrates me any time, I’ll vent THAT out here too. Like I said, this is MY PERSONAL blog. Period.

However, any comments you make on my blog are directly addressed to me. I HAVE to read them, whether I want to or not. So if I EXPLICITLY mention in my post that now is not a good time to rant about your personal grudges in your comments to me, then DO try and show some respect for my need for some space. When I’m in the mood (and IF I’m in the mood!) for it, I will read your rants on your own blog. IMPOSING YOURSELF on someone via comments is not nice. I don’t ever give you guys this kind of treatment on your posts, do I? So I hope you can also be a little nice to me. After all, I write happy posts here more than 80% of the time... posts that give you a reason to smile! And I think I can also do with some smiles thrown my way... especially when I'm sad or hurt.

Oh and everybody has his/her own unique style of writing. I don’t write fiction. Neither do I write poetry. I write all real-life stuff… the good anecdotes from life, as well as the bad ones… all from my personal experiences. And I always write in an equally strong and blunt tone… regardless of whether I’m criticizing something or praising something. So please don’t expect *selective passion* in my writings.

Apart from style, I also have MY OWN language of writing… the one I’m most comfortable expressing myself in. I talk in terms of Chakras, Karma, energy, past-lives… the whole metaphysical gamut. If you don’t understand all these things, please don’t comment simply to point out that I’m an Alien! (I already know that!) Even I don’t understand poetry, so I refrain from commenting on it. I can’t relate to foul language too (posts filled with the F word!), so I don’t comment on them either. If I grew up using ‘sita-fal’ for ‘pumpkin’ and my friend learnt that ‘sita-fal’ meant ‘custard apple’, it doesn’t mean either of us is wrong. We just speak different languages.

Also, phrases in the middle of a sentence, in a different text color than the rest of the sentence, by default, stand for hyperlinks. Highlights are either bold or italicized or in caps… in the SAME color. Please don’t start an argument simply because you couldn’t differentiate between a hyperlink and a highlight.

Lastly, I realize that troublemakers will always show up. Some people just like to stir up unnecessary arguments. Therefore, I have made some changes to my comments policy.

Till now, I published and replied to each and every comment I received, unless they were spam or had any personal information. But from now on, any comments that are irrelevant to the context of the post will not be replied to. And any comments intended to stir up senseless arguments here will neither be published, nor replied to. Sorry guys, but I simply don’t have the time for that sort of scum-of-blogging.

No, I’m not disabling comments – there are a lot of intelligent bloggers too out there, who often have useful add-ons to share on a post, and it’s always a delight reading their take on something.

No, I’m not taking the Yahoo Pingbox off either – it lets my readers interact with me on a real-time basis if required. In fact, the entire “Bloggers Meet @ Delhi” was conceived on this widget!

And no, I’m not taking this *personal* blog off the *public* domain either! A lot of strangers have actually benefited from certain insights posted here. And for such chance visitors, this blog will remain on public domain.

The new comment policy comes into effect from today – August 14th, 2009, 12:00 noon (IST).

If any of you feels hurt by this post, then please keep in mind that the post has not been directed towards anyone personally. And if it feels like a personal attack, it’s just a matter of individual perspective.

Wednesday, August 12, 2009

If you decide to comment on someone's blog-post, make sure you read it in FULL first! If it's too long for your patience, just skip it. Better not to say anything at all than say something stupid!

And don't argue just for the sake of arguing. Try to understand what the blogger has said in his/her post, and keep your comments within the relevant context of the post!

Don't make the blogger repeat what he/she has already written in the post. If you do that, you are just portraying yourself as too dumb! Pay attention to the details.

If the blogger has raised a genuine issue prevalent in the society, accept it with grace. Denial of something that exists doesn't obliterate its existence!

Don't attempt to steer the conversation towards a completely different direction.That is not funny at all. Neither does it reflect any intelligence on your part!

If someone expresses their views about something on their blog, that doesn't mean they are IMPOSING those views upon you. If you feel that way, it's totally your distorted perception!

. . .

My last post attracted a loooooooooong comment from some blogger I've never interacted with before. He specifically requested not to publish his comment! So I didn't. And because I make it a point to reply to all comments out of courtesy (even if I don't publish someone's comment for any reason, I still let him/her know the reason), I looked up this fellow's email id on his blogger profile and replied to his comment by email.

Since then, this guy has sent me 3 more emails... all extremely long ones, and full of rude and abusive comments... each one more abusive than the last one... despite the fact that he is almost 10 years younger than me!

Even after I made clear to him that I do not wish to have any further communication with him, he sent me another such "abusive mail"! And when I simply ignored it, he pinged me from this "Yahoo pingbox" installed here on my blog! And started throwing abusive remarks directed towards my parents! Thankfully, Yahoo gives us the option of blocking someone! And I used that option against him eventually!

I normally make every possible effort to protect the privacy of my blog readers. Anything that you guys share with me at a personal level, I don't disclose it to anyone else without permission. I have had lots of private conversations on this Yahoo Pingbox with so many of you. The information you share with me remains with me!

But in this guy's case, I have to make an exception here... 'coz he's officially "stalking" me now. Sending personally abusive emails (even after I have explicitly asked him not to contact me again!) and messages on chat abusing any of my parents... that's big-time stalking! This is not funny at all! So whoever you are Mr. "The M"... please be very careful. Anything you say can be and will be held against you if I decide to file legal proceedings against you. And you are not invincible just because you happen to be on the internet! All your moves on the web can be tracked easily.

So try not to overstep the ethical boundaries of blogging and communicating on the internet!

Tuesday, August 11, 2009

WARNING: What follows ahead is a long emotional rant, again about men! You are free to skip it if you want to. And in case you choose to do so, rest assured that I will not come after you with my blood-thirsty axe!

. . .

Last few days I have been busy providing a “shoulder-to-cry-on” to a friend here. Why? Because of a man obviously! (Need you even ask?) Although I hate to call him a ‘man’ after what he did! Repeated “I love you”s for over a year… and in the end, a very masterful plan to break off… comprising of lies and scheming plots… carefully implemented over a span of 2-3 months. Heck! This guy even used his family in his devious game – his widowed mother and grandmother, and his poor sister in Delhi who has absolutely no idea of how his younger brother is playing with innocent unsuspecting girls!

The worst part in the whole setup was that the 2 of them were friends originally -- platonic friends for years! And HE was the one who proposed to take their relationship beyond friendship. Said he had ‘feelings’ for her! At a time when she was going through an especially bad phase in her life! He completely took advantage of her simplicity and faith in him as a friend, only to leave her more crushed than ever before!

I’m sure quite a few of my readers can relate to the kind of men... oops! *guys* I’m talking about here. In fact, some of you must be *exactly* like these guys! I don’t need to know whether you are or are not. So please don’t bother leaving any clarifications in your comments! All I want to say today is that guys like these are lower than the lowliest creatures inhabiting this planet! Their souls are almost dead… like Voldemort, if you need a comparison!

This particular fellow messed up the lives of 4 women, as we eventually discovered later on! But there are other even worse bastards! They keep on dating girl after girl after girl! With absolutely no qualms about how they may be messing up someone’s life! 20… 30… 40… even 100 unsuccessful relationships to their name! And they wear these numbers proudly, as feathers in their cap! And they truly believe they are some kind of super hero (“Alpha Male”) that they’ve managed to hook up with so many girls!

What an irrationally bloated ego!

In Mahabharata, Shishupal was spared 100 crimes by Lord Krishna… only because of his mother’s good Karma. He received this protection for 100 deathly sins only because his mother asked Krishna for this ‘blessing’. But the moment the 101st blasphemy came out of his mouth, Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra had taken off! So don’t ever fall into this false bubble of security that you’ll never have to face the consequences of your hideous acts! Remember: bubbles are meant to burst! You are not invincible.

And to be very candid with you… you guys think it’s some kind of achievement -- *tricking* unsuspecting girls, mostly from small town, who may not be feeling very confident about themselves or their lives at that particular moment, and luring them with your rotten sweet-talks and hints of empty promises! In reality, you are worse than the blushing teenager, who stammers as he approaches a girl with a rose in his hand! And if you really think you are so much of a Casanova… then I challenge you! Go and find yourself a completely self-confident girl-friend! Someone who’s life is running *perfectly* at the moment! Someone who’s in perfect health, who looks gorgeous, has a perfect career and a very supportive and intricate family-and-friends network too!

Haah! You wouldn’t dare approach girls like these! You don’t have enough balls! You’ll only approach the ones who have a broken family perhaps, or are going through some career problems at that time, or who’ve just come out of a bad relationship! Always remember: Only the very old tigers look for weak preys! The ones who are weak themselves! So never commit the mistake of believing that you deserve a pat on your back for screwing up the life of a girl who is not even aware of your disgusting rules of the game! Any guy, who has to lie to get himself laid (or even just to have some female company at his side!) is nothing more than a pathetic loser! His very manhood is questionable! (Remember that used-car salesman in “True Lies”?)

The guy my friend was involved with actually went as far ahead as to make wedding plans with her. In fact, she helped him set up his new flat here in Patna from scratch! Every single spoon, the curtains on the windows, the little bit of furniture he has currently – she helped him set it all up! He always behaved like she was already a part of his family! But then he was just “4-experiences” old, you know. Hence, he wasn’t that smart in his tactics! Guys with more experience always make sure you can never trap them with any promises of marriage on their part! They’ll always give even subtler hints of commitment to the girl, which will keep her from ending the relationship, but which they can easily refute later on as “misinterpretation” on the girl’s part! But such deliberate tricks don’t fool God up there you know, even if they might have managed to fool the girl for a few months/years!

Actually, to be very honest, I pity such guys! For they can never experience true love. Yes, I know a lot of you are going to comment that there is no such thing as “true love”… and I pity you too! Just because you haven’t seen/experienced something, it doesn’t mean that it never exists! Even dogs can’t see color, but that doesn’t mean colors don’t exist. And if you seriously believe true love doesn’t exist in real life, then you are really no better than a dog! But then we all already know this, don’t we… that “Men are Dogs”!

I wonder - how much bad karma a guy must have done in his past, that he gets real love in his life, only to push it away from him! Something special that God has blessed you with… and you refuse to accept it! Nothing can be more pitiable that THAT!

If this guy had remained steadfastly in my friend’s life… even if only as a platonic friend… her prayers would have helped him sail through his own life like an experienced fighter pilot! Just because she would have always believed that “he stood with her when she most needed support”! When you do an unselfish act of kindness for someone who’s in trouble, the fruits of that good Karma can take you from rags to riches! But now, after the way he has treated her, all he’s going to get is the wrath of a hurt female!

This is a Karmic payback period. All of us are balancing out our Karma in the current times. And guys like these… they not only attract the ill-wishes of the girl whose soul they’ve abused, they also attract the cumulative wrath of all the females on the planet!

Abusing a soul is much MUCH worse than any form of physical or sexual abuse. Breaking someone’s trust in you is the worst possible sin you can ever commit. Even a murder stands nowhere as compared to breaking someone’s trust in you. For in murder, you only stab the mortal body, but when you shatter someone’s trust, you stab his/her very soul!

And guys who abuse women like this… they can never ever be successful in their life. Not now. Not in this “payback” time! For now is the time Lord Krishna’s Sudarshan Chakra has taken off! It has been set in action! Anything you put your hands in now, any new venture you try, you’ll suffer major setbacks in it. You’ll encounter blocks and dead-ends at every step of the way. Financial crises of the likes you’ve never seen before, humiliation, loss of job, bad health/accidents, thefts and burglaries, controversies, sleepless nights, you name it!

You want to know if there is any way out of it -- only one. As Dumbledore tells Harry in book 7, the only way for Voldemort to repair the damage inflicted upon his own soul, by being so insensitive and merciless to other innocent souls, was REMORSE. Just like Voldemort, you too are living a cursed existence. You are less than living... less than whole. You might think right now that Harry Potter is just a Fairy Tale for little kids. But read between the lines. Try to get the real meaning of the entire plot. At the risk of sounding blasphemous, I’d go as far as to say that the Harry Potter series are no less than our great epics – Mahabharat & Ramayan – only written with a different background and in different times! (I know... if any of our Hindu religious preachers get to read this post ever, they’ll hang me for this! I don’t care!)

Coming back to the unscrupulous “players” of our male species… all you guys who have ever hurt even a single female in your life… ask for forgiveness – from ALL the females you have ever used and abused! Just like in that Hindi movie “Bachna Ae Haseeno”! Feel remorse for what you have done. Actually experience the hurt you have caused to these females. Be in their shoes. Feel their pain. You’ll squirm under your flesh when you see how horrible your soul looks now! In fact, I don’t have enough abusive words in my vocabulary to describe how ugly men like you are!

My friend will be fine. She’ll move on. If you honestly think that women, who are blessed with the strength to withstand labor pains, can fall apart at such minor hurts, then you totally underestimate them! Even most women underestimate themselves actually. My friend might not be able to trust another man for quite some time now… but she’ll get the good she deserves in life… in some other ways maybe! She played her part honestly and sincerely, she loved this man truly from her heart, with true sportsmanship spirit… and she will get the fruits of her good Karma. This is, after all, a Karmic clearance time.

Can’t say the same for this guy though! And he didn’t just use this girl (my friend)… he even used the other 3 females in his life to cover up his acts of shame, without their knowledge! I can’t even begin to imagine how this guy is going to end up, with Karma like that! On the one hand, I feel so angry at him… and yet, on the other, I can’t help but pray for him that “please God, have mercy on him, show him the Light… while there’s still hope of salvaging whatever’s left of his soul!”

Why am I getting so worked up about someone else’s life? Because I have also encountered such losers in my life! And I know, quite a few of my female readers have also been unfortunate to fall into the carefully laid-out traps of such men. I don’t need any words of sympathy right now… or even advice! Neither do any of those other females who have been abused, maybe not sexually, but mentally, emotionally AND spiritually! We are not responsible for how anyone else chooses to spend their life! To each, his/her own Karma. Period.

I write about it here because writing is what I do best, along with fixing broken computers of course, and even programming now! Writing is the only way I’m able to give vent to my pent-up feelings, so that they don’t remain bottled-up inside me. Am I expecting or hoping for anyone to change his ways after reading this post? Not really. But Lord Krishna did give one last chance to the Kauravas before the final battle of Mahabharat began. I’m not starting any battle or war here either. Frankly, I don’t have time for such losers! Just wanted to get this off my chest… and that’s what I’m doing.

Just be clear about one thing guys… there are all sorts of girls in this world, just like there are all sorts of guys. There are girls who believe in fidelity and commitment, who believe in monogamous relationships. Steer clear of them if that’s not how YOU perceive YOUR relationships. Find someone your own size. Find yourself a girl who plays YOUR game.

And remember: most girls (Indians at least!) still expect marriage at the end of a “formal proposal”. In other words, when you tell a girl, in those many words, that you “have developed feelings” for her, and that you “love” her, you both know it will be interpreted as “you want to marry her… maybe not immediately, but eventually.” So don’t start such a relationship with such a girl if you have no intention of following it through. Girls make it very clear, right at the beginning of an acquaintance, as to what category they fall in… whether they are the “open relationship” type or not. Don’t deliberately screw up someone’s life when you know they are not that type!

And yes, platonic relationships ARE possible. I have 99 friends on FaceBook… and I think more than 60% of them are males… and I have very beautiful “platonic” relationships with each one of them! For those of you who are not sure of the meaning of the word (yes, I have encountered such guys too!), “platonic” simply means “free from physical desires”... which means that you CAN love a person without any kind of physical intimacy creeping in the relationship. You can even share the same bed… sleep right next to each other… and yet keep your relationship free from any complications. Hope it’s clear now.

Oh and I know some of you are going to point out in your comments that "there are females also who act all bitchy and use men like this!" I completely agree with you. But this is a girl's blog. If you want to talk about such females, please feel free to do so on your own blog. This post is out-and-out a post on men!

Lastly, I thank you all for reading this immensely long and heavy post… those of you who have managed to make it so far! I salute your patience, and I don’t want you to spoil your day by carrying sticky residues of anger and hurt from this page. So I’ll end this post on a lighter note… male bashing of course, but, in a lighter vein!

They (the men obviously!) say that women are complex and difficult to understand! Read what Phoenix has to say about men’s vagueness and complexities in her “Public Diary” - http://apublicdiary.blogspot.com/2009/08/my-boyfriends-instructions.html!

Never say “I love you”, if you don’t care.
Never talk about feelings if they aren’t really there.
Never touch a life, if you mean to break a heart.
Never say you will, if you don’t plan to start.
Never look in the eye…
When all you do is lie…

Thankfully, I have come across more good guys in my life than such ugly ones. And I really respect them a lot more now… for they too had a choice, and they chose the path of honesty and sensitivity. In fact, had it not been for these “good” guys, I might have long ago changed my sexual orientation! But as things are right now, I’m still straight! [Keeping fingers crossed though!]

P.S. This post is dedicated to all my male friends who never deceived me, who stood by me whenever I needed them. I love you all and I wish from the bottom of my heart today, that all your most beautiful dreams come true! Loads of hugs…

Note: As pointed out by Shobhit's comments below, I apologize to all dogs and bitches of the world for having compared them with such foul and lifeless creatures as described above. I can't think of a correct replacement right now... so kindly substitute all occurrences of these marvelous animals in the post with something really REALLY disgusting! Thanks.

Friday, August 7, 2009

Remember that story about this guy who is invited for lunch by his in-laws. There is one dish on his plate that he absolutely abhors, but he doesn't want to hurt the feelings of his mother-in-law, who has so lovingly cooked everything for him. So he decides to eat that particular dish first, and saves his most favorite item on the plate for the last. His mother-in-law notices him finishing off that dish first, assumes it's his favorite, and gives him a second helping. He's again not able to refuse. Finishes it off first, and is immediately served a 3rd helping! You know the rest, don't you?

So this time I've been tagged by DazeDiva. She figured that since I've been doing so many tags lately, I must really enjoy tags! Hence, she decided to add to my 'enjoyment'! Given below are 50 more things that you didn't know about me... whether you ever wanted to know these details or not is a different matter altogether!

. . .

1. What time did you get up this morning?
Seven. Was late. My Dad had to literally drag me out of bed today! I was in some other world I think.

2. How do you like your steak?
I don't like it much in any way actually!

3. What was the last film you saw at the cinema?
Oh! You mean the theaters? Wow! Been so long now, I can't even remember! Probably "Aaja Nach Le"...

4. What is your favorite TV show?
Currently... only Sa Re Ga Ma Pa on Zee TV. But I enjoyed watching Full House, I Dream of Jeannie, Who's The Boss, and yes... Tom & Jerry! :D

5. If you could live anywhere in the world, where would it be?
No idea about the city, 'coz I haven't travelled much yet... but would like a house with a big garden... or somewhere near the beach, with huge windows overlooking the sea.

6. What did you have for breakfast?
Is this really important? I'm not even a celebrity yet you know, that you guys are interested in what I eat! Honestly! But if you really must know... I had sprouted moth beans (Turkish Gram) and parathas.

7. What is your favorite cuisine?
You mean select one type of food over another? OUCH! I guess I like Italian food a lot, and Chinese, and South Indian, and Rajasthani...

8. What foods do you dislike?
Sea food. Actually any non-veg item other than Chicken. Oh and I also don't like too much of Karela. And yes, Broccoli... it looks like mold-infected cauliflower! Disgusting!

9. Favorite Place to Eat?
Depends on what cuisine I'm interested in at that moment... and also what company I'm with.

13. Where would you visit if you had the chance?
Lots of places... wait and watch.

14. Cup 1/2 empty or 1/2 full?
Just half a cup of something.

15. Where would you want to retire?
Oh come on man! I am just 31! I'm definitely NOT thinking of retirement already! In fact, I wouldn't like to retire ever... as long as I live!

16. Favorite time of day?
Morning! :D When the Sun comes out to kiss my sleepy face! Remember I'm a Sunflower! :D

17. Where were you born?
Kurji Holy Hospital, Patna - Bihar, INDIA. 15 days premature. The Nurse's name was Sister Jenny.

18. What is your favorite sport to watch?
Cricket. That's the only game I understand a bit.

19. Who do you think will not tag you back?
My guess is as good as yours.

20. Person you expect to tag you back first?
Roshmi! Tag freak! :p

21. Who are you most curious about their responses to this?
Everybody in my blogroll. I wonder how many of them will actually do it ???

22. Bird watcher?
Yeah... at times. Like to watch animals too...

23. Are you a morning person or a night person?
Didn't I already answer this in Question No. 16?

24. Do you have any pets?
Nope. Never had any.

25. Any new and exciting news you’d like to share?
My Uncle was here from Kanpur and I got a lot of money from him for Rakhi!
:D "Lot" meaning really "LOT"! [wink! wink!]

26. What did you want to be when you were little?
A private detective like Nancy Drew.

27. What is your best childhood memory?
Childhood? Hmmm. Tough one. All I can remember is scraped knees and... well never mind.

28. Are you a cat or dog person?
Never liked cats! Eeeewwww! [like in Meeeewwww!] Dogs are cool though...

29. Are you married?
This one is a mystery for you guys to solve. Read my old posts and *mail* me your answer. Don't mention it in your comment here... otherwise people who read this post after you will see the answer in the comments.

30. Always wear your seat belt?
Not in Patna. And elsewhere too, the person driving the car has to remind me, 'coz I'm not in the habit you see.

31. Been in a car accident?
Nope. But have been hit by a motorcycle.

32. Any pet peeves?
Haven't I made this more than obvious in the last couple of tags I did? ;) :pFriends... please don't ask me to do any more tags now till November 2009 at least!

41. Happy with your job?
Nope. Isn't it why I'm changing my line of career at this age?

42. Broccoli?
Refer to Question No. 8.

43. What was your favorite vacation?
Went on a school trip to Kathmandu once... and the very first day, this girl (junior to me) asked me to help her unlock her suitcase. She said for some strange reason, her key wasn't working. I took the key from her hand and gave it a try. Nope. It just wouldn't turn! The suitcase looked oddly familiar. I gave it another try. Unsuccessful. Checked to see if the suitcase was lying upside down. It wasn't. Pulled it upright and then tried to turn the key. No go. Peered into the key hole to see if something was stuck. Too dark in there. Somebody had a torch. Flashed it inside the keyhole. Seemed okay. Tried the key again. Still didn't work. Suddenly there was a flash of lightning and I realized that was MY suitcase! We'd both been trying to unlock MY suitcase with HER key!

44. Last person you went out to dinner with?
My sister and her friend in Delhi.

45. What are you listening to right now?
The sound of the ceiling fan above, the tinkling of the wind-chime in the balcony, a street-hawker selling his wares, and some horns & honks from the road.

46. What is your favourite colour?
Varying shades of blue.

47. How many tattoos do you have?
None at the moment.

48. How many are you tagging for this quiz?
ROSHMI for one! (Revenge time! Hoo hoo haa haa haa!)
And Sumit! He was laughing at my plight for having to do so many tags all at once! In fact, Sumit gets tagged with ALL the past tags that I have done. You can find them all under the label 'Tags' dude! Go on then! It's my turn to laugh now! =)) =)) =))

49. What time did you finish this quiz?
You'll get to know by the time-stamp of this post!

Thursday, August 6, 2009

I found an interactive widget on the net about human Chakras, and decided to share it with my readers here. For those of you who don't know what Chakras are, it provides a good briefer about these energy centers in our bodies. At the same time, it also serves as a quick refresher or a ready-reckoner for those of you who DO know about them.

If you click on each of the "colored balls" along the spine of the girl's silhouette, more details about that particular Chakra will be displayed in the right panel, along with a magnified image of how that particular Chakra is visualized.

In simple words, Chakras are energy vortices, and each Chakra is supposed to resonate at an ideal frequency for optimum health. An over-active Chakra would be one spinning at a higher than ideal speed, and a blocked Chakra would be one spinning too slow. Both the situations lead to dis-ease in the body - physical, mental or emotional.

In Indian scriptures, Chakras are visualized symbolically:

4-petalled Red lotus for the Root (Mooladhara) Chakra

6-petalled Orange lotus for the Sacral (Swadhisthan) Chakra

10-petalled Yellow lotus for the Solar Plexus (Manipura) Chakra

12-petalled Green lotus for the Heart (Anahata) Chakra

16-petalled Blue lotus for the Throat (Vishuddhi) Chakra

2-petalled Indigo lotus for the Third Eye (Ajneya) Chakra

Thousand-petalled Violet lotus for the Crown (Sahasrara) Chakra

Makes it V-I-B-G-Y-O-R, in reverse... all the colors of the rainbow!

Each of these seven major Chakras corresponds to specific organs and glands in our body. And abnormal functioning of any Chakra leads to a dis-ease in the corresponding section of our physical body. For example, the Sacral Chakra is associated with the human reproductive system.

Similarly, each of these Chakras also relates to specific mental and emotional patterns. For example, suicidal temperament is primarily marked by a weak/under-active Root Chakra. And a Teacher/Professor would have a healthy Throat Chakra.

In short, all aspects of our life can be summed up in Chakras. Health, finances, personal relationships -- they're all dependent on the state of our Chakras. Yoga, Reiki, TaiChi, QiGong, Meditation and Pranayam are just a few of the many different ways in which we can keep our Chakras vibrant and balanced, in order to live a more fulfilling life.

You can also read more about Chakras, and how they relate with our Endocrine System, on Wikipedia.

P.S. - My article on Chakra Healing with Crystals got published in the March 2011 issue of one of the leading magazines on health & metaphysical matters - Life Positive. To see the scanned pages of my published article, please read my post "Myriad of Emotions: Pride".

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

I'm sure we all have heard this usually-well-rehearsed statement hundreds of times... from various Customer Support people -- Credit Card Companies, Consumer Electronic Goods Suppliers, Internet Service Providers, Airline Reservations, Cellphone Companies... you name it! In fact, I was one of these "Support guys" too, till not so long ago... when I was working for Dell! Isn't it terrifying, listening to that machine-like voice (that claims to belong to a human) uttering the above fateful words? Brings to life all your worst nightmares!

When I was into my first few months taking calls for Dell, I got this caller once who actually let out a sigh of relief and said "Thank Gawd, you don't sound like a machine!" I couldn't understand at that time as to why he said such a thing. I didn't have a cellphone back then, you see. So never had to call up any Customer Support guys myself! In fact, several of my callers took my boss' email ID to tell him how pleased they were with the support I provided, and that I "even laughed on the call" (???)... and they told my boss he should give me a raise and a promotion. Of course, neither came... and eventually I just stopped giving his email ID to anyone, 'coz it wasted too much time on the call trying to explain an Indian name to those American fellas!

But anyways... enough of shameless bragging about how good I was as a Customer Support person! Let's get back to the REAL subject matter of this post!

Earlier in the evening, I had the misfortune to hear those agonizing words from a supposedly *Support* person. (I have a cellphone now you know!)

The situation is that I got my cellphone recharged with this Rs. 875 STD-Calling-Card late last night. But it wouldn't let me make any calls through it today! Repeatedly kept giving the error message that "this destination number is not reachable with this card" and that I should call Customer Support.

I was using the Rs. 650 version of the same card till now. In this STD-Calling-Card (or India-Card, as it is also known) all outgoing calls have to be pre-fixed with "*375". So if I want to call an out of town number, say a landline number in Delhi, I would enter "*375" followed by the STD code for Delhi "011" and then the 8-digit landline number. Simple enough? For cellphones, since they don't have any STD codes, I would simply enter "*3750" followed by the 10-digit cell number... just the way people normally call mobile phones... a "0" and the 10-digit number.

So this Customer Support guy answers the call after I've listened to their IVR for like 10 minutes. He listens to my problem... sounds confused... confirms that the prefix for the 875 card is the same as for the 650 card... still sounds confused... and then tells me that I need to add the STD code before the number for an out-of-town number.

I tell him I'm calling cell numbers, not landlines. He again seems a bit confused, so I tell him exactly what I'm dialling. The guy says there must be some network problem. I tell him I'm getting this specific error message repeatedly, which has "specifically" asked me to call you guys.

So he puts me on hold to *confirm* and then comes back a minute later and asks me "Are you getting any error message?"

I'm like "what was I saying till now dude!"

Anyways, I repeat the error message for him, and then wait for doomsday, as he puts me on hold again to *confirm*... again(?)... about it.

This time he comes back and tells me that he'll have to take down a complaint ("Finally!") and then transfer me to the concerned department ("Transfer? Oh! Hmmm!")... and he asks me to give him the number I was trying to call.

I had actually tried 2 different numbers, one in Guwahati and the other in Delhi. But he sounded so lost and confused, I decided to stick to only one (make things less complicated for him you know) and started to give him my sister's cell number.

"*37509..."

"No wait. First give me the STD code."

"Oh but I told you... I was calling a cell number, not a landline."

"But Ma'am, whatever number you are calling, there will be an STD code with it. Please give that code to me."

"Well STD codes are for landlines, aren't they? And I told you, I'm not calling a landline. Why will I dial the STD code before a mobile number? We just add a '0' before the mobile numbers, don't we?"

"I need the STD code ma'am, it is mandatory."

What the f***!

"Dude! Even 10 year old kids know we just add a '0' for mobile numbers! YOU tell me what number should I give you now, when I'm not dialling any STD code!"

"I know ma'am that mobile numbers are dialled by adding just a '0'... I do the same... but it says here in this dialogue-box that I must give an STD code..."

"Fine then! Put a '0' in it!"

"I can't just put a '0' in there ma'am. I need to give a valid STD code."

"But there IS no STD code! You asked me what number I was dialling, and that's what I'm giving you!"

"Ma'am I'll need to put you on hold while I *confirm*..."

What! Not again! Pleaaassseeeee!

"Well since you need to *CONFIRM*... with someone else... about every little thing, why don't you just let me speak directly with that someone else? It'll save a lot of time for both of us!"

"But ma'am, I'll have to *confirm*..."

And I hung up on that!

One question that keeps popping-up in my insistently inquisitive mind: Why on Earth do they call this... this fiasco... "Customer SUPPORT Center"... or "Customer HELPdesk"? The guys in this department provide anything but support or help! They harass you, they torture you, they make you pull your hair out! They act like they are talking to some alien creature, who doesn't speak their language! They make you sweat, raise your blood pressure, increase your pulse rate... until you are on the verge of screaming "GOD! Let me die!" Oh! I get it... was this department so named then merely to *highlight* the fact that "Customers will NOT be given any SUPPORT or HELP here?"

Sunday, August 2, 2009

Once upon a time, relationships used to be simple and straightforward. Once upon a time, men and women were honest to each other about their feelings. Once upon a time, there was acceptance and understanding; there was caring and sharing.

Today, relationships are twisted and devious. Today, relationships are just feathers in your cap... the more the merrier... just a means to give a boost to your abnormally inflated ego. Today, there is only deceit and apathy.

Once upon a time, "I love you" meant a "promise"... a promise to always be there for you... a promise to always protect you and stand by you. Today, it's only a bunch of meaningless empty words.

I'm not very good at expressing feelings, but luckily, I found this girl in Bloggersville who is! And in her post "The Women who give the good ones a bad name", she says exactly what I would have said if I had been capable of putting my emotions into words.

. . .

Never say "I Love You" if you don't.

Seven years ago, I said the above to someone... and today, I repeat this... for anybody who might be reading this post.

P.S. - By "relationships", in this particular post, I don't mean any platonic relationships -- parent-child, siblings, friends, etc. I don't even mean casual sex partners. I'm only talking about "proper relationships" between man & woman (Or even man-man or woman-woman; I'm not biased against them you see!)... that start with a formal "proposal" and consist of some serious courtship, extending over a considerable period of time.

Saturday, August 1, 2009

Just checked into my Google Analytics account for last month's (July's) traffic reports. The overall statistics were more-or-less same as June...

Over 1300 visits from 41 countries/territories, out of which 643 were Absolute Unique visits, with a total of almost 3100 pageviews. (That's almost 100 pageviews per day!) About 50% of the visitors use Mozilla browser and 95% use Microsoft Windows as their Operating System.

But the most interesting bit was the detailed Geographic distribution of the visits this month!

July saw 4 visits from Jaipur (2 visits on the 7th of July and 2 on the 24th), with a total of 37 pages viewed, in approximately 1 and a half hours! Amazing, isn't it? But, if you think that's the secret admirer I'm talking about... wait till you read the next one! :D

July also saw 105 visits (No, that isn't a typo... it's not 15, nor 10... I really mean "One Hundred and Five" visits!) from Montara, California... with a total of 294 pageviews! That's almost 50 pages more than the total number of posts on this blog! Woahhh!

Now that's what I call a "sticky ghost"! :D

Pal... whoever you are, who's visiting me from Montara, California... please show yourself... "Homenum Revelio"! I would like to meet you personally (a virtual meet of course) and thank you... and maybe even take your name and address to send you a free copy of my book... if and when I DO get to write one in this lifetime!

He he he he he! :D

P.S. - The game "Flood-It" has been removed from this blog as the widget stopped working.

Meet The Author

Business Owner. Freelance Writer. Blogger.
As mysterious as this world around me.
Witty. Humorous. Thought provoking.
Sometimes sweet, but mostly spicy.
Here's my complete profile.
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